Final Destination (2000)

Final Destination is a 2000 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wong (in his directorial debut), who co-wrote the screenplay with Glen Morgan and Jeffrey Reddick, based on a story by Reddick. It stars Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, and Tony Todd. Sawa portrays a teenager who cheats death after having a premonition of a catastrophic plane explosion. He and several of his classmates leave the plane before the explosion occurs, but Death later takes the lives of those who were meant to die on the plane.

The film began as a spec script written by Reddick for an episode of The X-Files in order for Reddick to get a TV agent. A colleague at New Line Cinema persuaded Reddick to write it as a feature-length film. Later, Wong and Morgan, The X-Files writing partners, became interested in the script and agreed to work on the film. Principal photography took place in New York City and Vancouver, with additional scenes filmed in Toronto and San Francisco.

Final Destination was released in the United States on March 17, 2000. The film achieved commercial success, earning $112.9 million against a $23 million budget. While it received mixed reviews from critics, it won the Saturn Award for Best Horror Film and Best Performance by a Younger Actor for Sawa, The film's popularity led to the expansion of the Final Destination franchise, which includes five additional films, as well as novels and comic books. The first sequel, Final Destination 2, was released on January 31, 2003.